If everything goes as planned, there will be a youth centre in the Aurora Family Leisure Complex in 2014.
In a 5-4 vote, Aurora council supported a $4.2-million expansion of the Industrial Parkway North complex during its meeting Tuesday.
Staff will now seek an architect to design the project.
Councillors Chris Ballard, Evelyn Buck, John Gallo and Wendy Gaertner voted against the proposal.
The project lacks a business plan and will ultimately fail to appeal to Aurora’s youths, Mr. Ballard said.
“My biggest concern is the planning process for this centre,” he said. “This is a dilution of what we originally promised to do for the youths.
“We’re doing a disservice. They think they’re getting something different. We’re giving them a gymnasium and more sports facilities that will be used by adults.”
Not enough planning went into the youth centre proposal for him to make a decision, he said.
“Mark my words, we’ll probably be looking at building a youth centre in 10 years and people will be saying we already did that.”
The centre will offer services most schools already have in place, Ms Buck said, adding there has been little attempt to communicate with youths outside of high schools.
“I acknowledge a gap in services for young people, but I’ve never been completely comfortable we were going in the right direction,” she said, adding the facility should help youths who have fallen through the cracks.
The youth centre may include a gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, peer counselling area, teaching kitchen, rock climbing wall, computer lab, game room, lounge, outdoor skateboard park and upgraded running track, though the final design has yet to be approved by council.
The centre would likely be used to host a variety of activities, including job skills seminars, fitness programs, pre-teen dances and sport and recreational drop-in sessions.
“This town needs a youth centre space,” Councillor Sandra Humfryes said. “Over the last 12 years, we have been presented with a needs analysis and stats that reinforce the need to have a place for youths to go. It will include programming ... and give youths a place to hang out, so they can be who they are.”
Her son is now an adult but would have loved to have a youth centre to use, she said.
The expansion will create a better ambiance in the leisure complex by creating a lobby and a more appealing street presence, a staff report said.
The centre will have a variety of programs and services aimed at creating well-rounded teenagers, Mayor Geoff Dawe said.
“I find it irresponsible to say we’re not including things like art, culture, sports and recreation,” he said.
“I’m in full support of this. It’s time we did it, time to move on and time to provide some of those services to the youths of our community.”